158 THE PRINCIPLES OF SELF-MASTERY
COMMENTARY
Napoleon Hill was by no means the first to encourage the use of autosuggestion.
Perhaps the best-known advocate was French psychiatrist, Emil Coue. A contem-
porary of Freud in the late 1800s, Coue advocated the use of autosuggestion by the
repetition of statements that he termed positive affirmations. He developed what he
considered to be a perfect positive statement that was nonspecific and could be
used to improve any aspect of anyone's life. Coue instructed his patients to repeat
the following phrase several times a day: "Every day in every way I am getting
better and better." Word of his success with the method quickly spread, and the use
of the phrase practically became a movement in Europe.
When Coue traveled to America on a lecture tour, the press of the day found
his idea to be too simplistic and parodied his affirmation with their own version,
"Hells bells, I'm well. " It made Coue a laughingstock, and just as had happened
when stage magicians cast doubt on the efficacy of hypnosis, Coue's method of
positive affirmation fell into disrepute.
Serious scientists and therapists continued to work with these methods, but
as with Hill's theories about the power of the mind to heal the body, it took the
openness of the latter part of the twentieth century before the techniques of
self-hypnosis, autosuggestion, and positive affirmations began to gain general
acceptance once again.
If you wish to increase your knowledge of these techniques, the following
books will provide you with a diversity of information: Creative Visualization by
Shakti Gawain, Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, Visualization: Directing the
Movies of Your Mind by Adelaide 8ry, Getting Well Again by Dr. O. Carl Simonton,
Self-Hypnosis by Leslie M. LeCron.The subconscious mind may be likened to a magnet; when it has
been vitalized and thoroughly saturated with any definite purpose, it has
a decided tendency to attract all that is necessary for the fulfillment of
that purpose.
Like attracts like, and you may see evidence of this law in every blade
of grass and every growing tree. The acorn attracts from the soil and the